Racing Post's Texas Children's Houston Open predictions & free golf betting tips plus bet £10 and get a £30 free bet with Kwiff

When to bet on the Texas Children's Houston Open

By 12.30pm on Thursday

It's also worth noting that Kwiff are offering a £30 free bet when new customers bet £10 on golf 

Where can I watch the Texas Children's Houston Open

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.20pm on Thursday

Texas Children's Houston Open predictions

Wyndham Clark
3pts each-way 12-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Sahith Theegala
2pts each-way 18-1 Betfair, Hills, Paddy Power

Si Woo Kim
1pt each-way 30-1 bet365

Mackenzie Hughes
1pt each-way 50-1 Hills

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Texas Children's Houston Open preview

Scottie Scheffler appears to have the PGA Tour in the palm of his hands and two weeks before the Masters he is highly fancied to claim a third successive tournament win at this week's Texas Children's Houston Open.

The world number one heads to the state he calls home and is just 11-4 to add the trophy to his recent wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship. And now that his previous putting weaknesses look to have been rectified, that short-looking price is sure to still be too attractive for many.

However, there are others knocking at the door who will see this as a perfect opportunity to warm up for Augusta or punch their ticket for the year's first Major.

Top tip

Wyndham Clark 12-1

When looking for alternatives to the rampant world number one, the sensible place to start is the man he has beaten into the runners-up spot in his last two tournament wins - Wyndham Clark.

The US Open champion has established himself as a top performer in the last 12 months when he not only claimed his first Major but also triumphed at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am as well, while running Scheffler closest at both Bay Hill and Sawgrass.

The pair will be expected to lead the charge again at Memorial Park and with Coral and Ladbrokes offering ten places this week, backing Clark to continue his fine form is too tempting to turn down.

While Scheffler leads the Tour in the vast majority of key statistics, his chief market rival is not too far behind and holds many of the assets that should stand him in good stead this week.

He is 17th in strokes-gained on approach, eighth from tee to green and 11th in greens in regulation, all of which were key metrics when Tony Finau triumphed the last time this tournament was played in November 2022.

Clark finished 16th on that occasion when a final 73 let him down, but he is clearly a better player these days and charged in his preparation for what will be surprisingly his Masters debut.

Scheffler is going to take a lot of beating, but this could be the week when Clark finally gets his head over the line.

Next best bet

Sahith Theegala 18-1

Another player who has developed since that last Houston showdown 17 months ago is Sahith Theegala, and the signs are there that he too can make a bold bid.

He was 22nd the last time the tour congregated at Memorial Park and he will have fond memories of that tournament as he closed with a 64 that was two shots better than the rest of the field on the final day.

Theegala is a lot more used to hovering around the top of leaderboards these days and he has been in the mix frequently in the last few weeks.

Having finished runner-up in the first tournament of the year - The Sentry in Hawaii - he has gone on to finish fifth at the Phoenix Open, sixth at the Arnold Palmer and then an encouraging ninth at the Players last time out.

The quality of his short game could come to the fore again in Texas this week and he looks a leading competitor.

Other selections

Si Woo Kim 30-1

Mackenzie Hughes 50-1

Two other players deserve consideration to take the title and Si Woo Kim should have been lifted by his sixth-place finish at Sawgrass.

That was the South Korean's best finish since he was fourth at the Memorial in June  and while he was 35th on his last Memorial Park visit, he, like Clark, faded with a closing 73. He possesses strong course attributes and is ranked fifth from tee to green and 12th in greens in regulation.

His last tournament round was a 64 at the Players, a score that only Scheffler matched on the final day, so his confidence should have been boosted.

The same could be said of Mackenzie Hughes, who claimed his first top-20 finish of the year when he was third at last week's Valspar Championship.

It has been a tough few months since he finished 2023 strongly with seventh at the World Wide Technology Championship and second at the RSM Classic behind Ludvig Aberg, but Hughes will hope last week's finish will turn the tide.

No player gained more shots on the greens in the last tournament at the venue, when Hughes was 16th, and he performed even better in 2020 when he was seventh, having closed with a 63.

Those memories and last week's confidence boost could help him to a decent finish.

Course guide for the Texas Children's Houston Open

• Course Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
• Prize money $9.1m ($1.62m to the winner)
• Length 7,435 yards
• Par 70 – three par-fives, ten par-fours, five par-threes
• Field 144 The cut Top 70 and ties will qualify for the third round
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Scottie Scheffler (1), Wyndham Clark (4), Sahith Theegala (15), Jason Day (20), Will Zalatoris (29)
• Course records - 72 holes 264 Tony Finau (2022) 18 holes 62 Scottie Scheffler (2021), Tony Finau (2022)
• Course winner taking part Tony Finau
• When to bet By 12.20pm on Thursday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm on Thursday
• Time difference Houston is five hours behind the UK and Ireland
• Last week – Valspar Championship 1 P Malnati (300-1), 2 C Young (28-1), T3 C Phillips (350-1), T3 M Hughes (100-1), T5 X Schauffele (15-2), T5 C Yuan (400-1), T5 R Moore (300-1), T5 A Hadwin (40-1)
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview This tournament has switched back to a spring slot from November after the PGA Tour was restructured, meaning a late invitation for the Masters is up for grabs. This is the third time since 2019 that the course has hosted this tournament, when the design was tinkered with by Tom Doak with assistance from Brooks Koepka. The fairways were widened and the number of trees and bunkers were reduced. Avoiding the Bermuda rough is key, while the greens are undulating and tricky.
• Story of last year Tony Finau came out of top of the tournament held in November 2022, equalling the course record with a Friday 62 and coming out four shots ahead of Tyson Alexander
• Weather forecast A sunny start is predicted with a cloudy finish. Temperatures are expected to reach about 24C
• Type of player suited to the challenge Solid tee-to-green play was a key to success last time, but the switch to March may mean the greens are drier and faster, so decent putting and short-game skills could come in handy
• Key attribute Touch/putting

Key stat

Last year's top ten all ranked in the top 20 for the strokes-gained-tee-to-green statistic

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